The Houston Rockets stifled Steph Curry in remarkable fashion during their 106-96 win over the Golden State Warriors on Sunday. Curry had scored 35 or more points in each of his last three games entering the matchup against the Rockets, but Houston held him to just three points in the entire game, in part because of the defensive efforts by second-year forward Amen Thompson.
After an ineffective first half, Curry appeared to talk with the referees about the way the Rockets were defending him as he walked toward the locker room—for the first time since January, Curry did not attempt a single free throw in the game. On the way, Rockets coach Ime Udoka went by the conversation and was seen having an exchange with Curry.
Though Udoka simplified the exchange to "friendly banter," he did not back down about the physicality his team showed against Curry and the Warriors.
“When people start complaining about foul calls or crying about physicality, you’ve done your job," Udoka told Sam Amick of The Athletic. "That’s the first step in winning the battle. So I told my team, when this team starts crying about it, up the intensity, up the aggressiveness, and make the refs adjust to you.”
Curry joked that the exchange was about Udoka cancelling a reservation to International Smoke, a restaurant co-founded by his wife, Ayesha. “He made a reservation to International Smoke and canceled it. I was upset with him.”
Curry did insist though that he was not looking or expecting to get foul calls during the game. "You've been around 16 years, you've seen it all," Curry said, via Sam Gordon of the San Francisco Chronicle. "I don't ever expect to get calls. I don't ever go in looking for it. Try to play basketball, or try to play the way I do every night. Battle through physicality."
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Ime Udoka Had Strong Message About Rockets' Defense of Steph Curry, Warriors.
